• French Rugby Team Poaches Another Kiwi in Kerr-Barlow

    France has poached yet another Kiwi rugby player, as Tawera Kerr-Barlow will leave at the end of the season to ply his trade for La Rochelle.

    The side is currently on top of the French competition, so departing from the Chiefs was not the sort of decision the 26-year-old halfback needed to weigh to heavily, as he received a three-year deal.

    A New Zealander in Paris sounds a bit like a Gershwin parody, but Kerr-Barlow will not be a complete stranger when he is reunited with former All Blacks Jason Eaton and Victor Vito and he will also rejoin his Waikato and Chiefs teammate Romana Graham.

    He would like to secure another Super Rugby title for a swan song and he expressed the belief that he will see his deal with the Chiefs through to the end and perhaps even play once more for the All Blacks.

    Kerr-Barlow also thinks he may be back to play for his province and club in order to add to the 113 games he has for those two sides.

    It would seem possible, as he will be nearly 30 when he finishes up with European rugby and given the cheque books that some French clubs willingly open to imports, it is doubtful that they would extend Kerr-Barlow beyond three years, but there is nothing even approaching certainty in professional sports, so only time will write Kerr-Barlow’s final chapter.